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East Beach, Santa Barbara
Shark Weather report · updated Sun Oct 18, 4:22 pm PT
Sunrise/sunset calculated for this beach’s location (NOAA solar equations, ±2 min). Tides: NOAA CO-OPS predictions, Santa Barbara (9411340), 2 km away, feet above MLLW.
Surf/swim conditions only, never shark risk. How it's calculated
We have no approved official shark advisory or closure for this beach right now. Sharks live along this whole coast, so always check with lifeguards and posted signs.
No past official advisories on file for this beach yet. How this works
11 AM–2 PM · light wind (up to 5 mph), mid tide, rising
💨 Mid-window wind: Light onshore, 5 mph from SSW: light texture
Daylight hours only (sunrise 7:07 am, sunset 6:19 pm). From the NWS hourly forecast (wind) and NOAA CO-OPS hourly tide predictions (Santa Barbara, 2 km away). Surf/swim conditions only, not a safety rating. How it works
Live cam
Waterfront Livestream (Stearns Wharf area) · by City of Santa Barbara (opens their site; not affiliated with Shark Weather). Cams can be offline and are not a safety tool.
7-day outlook
Today Oct 18
Mon Oct 19
Tue Oct 20
Wed Oct 21
Thu Oct 22
Fri Oct 23
Sat Oct 24
Weather, wind and rain chance: National Weather Service (This Afternoon onward), updated Sun Oct 18, 11:26 am PT. High / overnight low. “n/a” = NWS gave no rain chance. Waves: NWS surf zone forecast (Santa Barbara County Southwestern Coast, Santa Barbara County Southeastern Coast), issued Sun Oct 18, 1:39 pm PT; it only covers the next few days, so “—” means no official wave forecast.
Conditions
Waves
Significant wave height 0.8 m · dominant period 13 s · from 268° (W)
East Santa Barbara buoy, 25 km away, as of 2:50 pm PT · NOAA NDBC. Buoys measure offshore; breaking surf at the beach can differ.
Surf zone forecastNWS
Moderate Rip Current Risk| Period | This Afternoon Through Monday |
| Surf height | 2 to 4 feet |
| Rip current risk | Moderate |
| Water temp (NWS) | 70 to 71 degrees |
| Remarks | Mixed south swell and west swell |
Santa Barbara County Southwestern Coast, Santa Barbara County Southeastern Coast · issued Sun Oct 18, 1:39 pm PT · NWS Surf Zone Forecast
Water temp
Wetsuit meter: Spring suit or 2 mm top
East Santa Barbara buoy (NDBC 46053), 25 km away, as of 2:50 pm PT. The wetsuit meter is a general comfort guide.
Weather & wind
This Afternoon: Mostly Sunny, 81°F, wind 5 to 10 mph W
- Tonight: Partly Cloudy, 59°
- Monday: Mostly Sunny, 79°
National Weather Service (LOX) forecast, updated Sun Oct 18, 11:26 am PT
💨 Moderate cross-offshore, 10 mph from W: clean (how)
Tides today
| Tide | Time (PT) | Height |
|---|---|---|
| High | 7:15 am | 3.8 ft |
| Low | 10:26 am | 3.6 ft |
| High | 3:47 pm | 4.3 ft |
| Low | 11:50 pm | 0.8 ft |
NOAA CO-OPS predictions, Santa Barbara (9411340), 2 km away · feet above MLLW
Water quality
Official status today: Santa Barbara County Environmental Health: Ocean Water Monitoring
State postings data lists 1 posting/closure record(s) within 1.5 km with no reopen date recorded. Latest: Posting (Bacterial Standards Violation) since 2026-02-25 at East Beach- Mission Creek.
CA State Water Resources Control Board beach postings (ODC-By). Latest record in the dataset: 2026-03-06. It lags behind real time, so use the county link for today.
After rain: county health officers advise staying out of ocean water for at least 72 hours after rain (a “rain advisory”). We haven’t found an official machine-readable rain-advisory feed we can use, so check the county link above.
Weekly A–F grades: Heal the Bay Beach Report Card. We link to it instead of copying their grades.
Lifeguards
City of Santa Barbara (Parks & Recreation lifeguards)
Official site. Ask the nearest tower about conditions, rip currents and any wildlife sightings.
In an emergency call 911.
SwellNDBC
| Primary swell | W 2.3 ft @ 12.9 s |
| Wind waves (secondary) | WSW 0.3 ft @ 4 s |
This swell partly reaches here (by our estimated swell window)
Swell window for this beach (estimate)
Reaches well from: none · partly from: 245–290°, 170–200° (directions the swell comes from, degrees true). South-facing; Channel Islands and Point Conception shadow most swell, so it is usually small. Estimate only: bearings read from coastline orientation and generally known exposure (island/point shadowing), roughly ±15°, not surveyed.
East Santa Barbara buoy (46053), 25 km offshore, spectral summary as of 3:40 pm PT · NOAA NDBC. Height in feet (converted from meters), period in seconds, direction the waves come from.
Beach info
| Parking | Paid parking on site, plus angled street parking. |
| Showers | Indoor and outdoor showers at the Cabrillo Pavilion Bathhouse. |
| Lifeguards | Summer: lifeguards 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Before summer, weekends only from Memorial Day weekend. |
From official pages: sbparksandrec.santabarbaraca.gov · santabarbaraparks.com. Checked 2026-10-18. Rules, fees and hours change; follow posted signs and lifeguards.